2011 Football Season Recap

With Six Wins in Last Seven Games, Eastern Finishes With Yet
Another Winning Season

The 2011 season ended on a high note for the Eastern Washington
University football team. Just not quite as high as the year
before.

Finishing the regular season 6-5 – and with the requisite
six wins to be considered for the NCAA Football Championship
Subdivision Playoffs – the Eagles found out a day after the
regular season ended that they weren’t lucky enough to be
selected to the 20-team field. The defending NCAA Division I
Champions, the Eagles overcame a rash of injuries to win six of
their last seven games after a 0-4 start.

“I’m very proud of our team,” said Eastern
head coach Beau Baldwin, whose team clinched a
winning season by ending the year with a 45-14 victory at Idaho
State. “Some of the things we overcame after starting 0-4
were tougher than some of the things we did in 15 games when we won
the national title. It took a lot of grit and we had to get after
it. It took a lot of heart and courage to come back like we did
after being 0-4 and having to overcome the injuries. I’m very
proud of these players for coming back to win six of their last
seven.”

In the past 16 years (1996-2011), the Eagles have won 61 percent
(116-73) of their games overall and 63 percent (78-45) in Big Sky
Conference play. Included are four Big Sky titles and four
runner-up finishes, as well as 14 winning seasons, six NCAA
Championship Subdivision Playoff berths and the 2010 FCS title.

Eastern, 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Sky Conference, has now
had 12 out of its last 13 seasons conclude with a victory in the
team’s final game of the regular season. The Eagles have won
13 of its last 14 regular season games in November.

En route to a thrilling, 53-51 overtime win over Cal Poly in the
second-to-last game of the season, Eastern won its eighth game in
the past two years when trailing or tied in the fourth quarter. The
Eagles blew a 28-14 third-quarter lead, rallied to send the game
into overtime with a game-tying drive with 1:51 left, then scored
on four-straight plays (two touchdowns and two conversions) in the
second and third overtimes to pull out the victory. A collective
19-7 in 2010 and 2011, EWU is 3-0 in overtime the past two
seasons.

“It felt like a playoff game – it was a
blast,” said Baldwin. “That’s why you coach
– for moments like these. It’s fun to see your players
step up and make plays on both sides of the ball. I’m just so
proud of the players for competing at the end of the year and still
fighting. That just shows their character.”

A total of 14 starters – seven on each side of the ball
– suffered injuries that kept them out of the lineup,
including seven players lost for the season (wide receiver
Brandon Kaufman, wide receiver Tyler
Hart, guard Ashton Miller, guard
Steven Forgette, guard Jase
Butorac, strong safety Matt Johnson,
linebacker Zach Johnson). In fact, only one
offensive lineman – senior tackle Gabriel
Jackson – started all 11 Eastern games, as a total
of 10 players started along the offensive line.

Eastern started 46 different players in the 2011 season –
24 on offense and 22 on defense – with only five players
(Jackson, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, wide
receiver Nicholas Edwards, defensive tackle
Charles Moetului and defensive end Paul
Ena) starting all 11 games. A total of 21 players made
starting debuts during the season.

Mitchell won the Walter Payton Award presented by The Sports
Network to the top player in FCS. In 2011, the senior led the FCS
in four categories, including passing yards (4,009) and touchdown
passes (33) on his way to breaking four school records. He broke
EWU’s record for single season passing yards with 4,009,
which ranks 17th in FCS history and fifth in Big Sky Conference
history.

Also earning All-America honors in 2011 on offense were Edwards
and his fellow wide receiver Greg Herd, as well as
center Chris Powers. They helped Eastern lead FCS
in passing yards per game (368.5) and rank seventh overall in total
offense (447.4).

Edwards finished the season ranked first in FCS in TD catches
(19), fourth in receptions per game (8.64 with a total of 95) and
fourth in receiving yards per game (113.6, total of 1,250). He
broke the school record for season receptions (95) and touchdown
receptions (19), with both marks ranking in the top 20 in FCS
history and in the top three all-time in the league.

Also earning All-America accolades were kicker Mike
Jarrett and defensive tackle Renard
Williams, and punter Jake Miller was a
freshman All-American. Safety Jeff Minnerly won a
pair of national and regional academic honors as well, and Jarrett
was also was honored nationally.